Cable-railway grip



Patented Inventor.

N. PETERS, Photo-.ilhugnphar. Wuhinginn. 0.1;

ilNrTEn STATES PATENT @rrrca.

HENRY R. TAYLOR, or OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA.

CABLE-RAILWAY GRIP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 373,106, dated November15, 1887.

Application filed January 18, 1887. Serial No. 224,738. (No model.)

7 whereby thejaws of the grip can be quickly accommodated todifferent-sized cables, resulting by switching from one cable to anotherwhen roads form ajunction, and, second, to so construct and arrangethejaws of the gripping device that, when open, they will not be in.contact with the fast-moving cable, thereby avoiding any unnecessarywear and tear of both. I attain these objects by the mechanismillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is anelevation representing the jaws of the grip open, the cable resting uponthe two guide-pulleys running loose, and are attached to the frame ofthe grip,-while neither of the jaws are in contact with the cable. Fig.2 is also an elevation exhibiting the jaws of the gripclosed, havingraised the cable from off the looseguide or carrying pulleys; and Fig. 3shows the upper and lower jaws, cams, and connecting-bars apart from theframe or other mechanism of the grip;

Similar lettersrefer to similar parts in the several views.

A is a strong iron frame carrying the two loose guide-pulleys B, uponwhich the cable 0 rests or travels when the grip is disengaged, as shownin Fig. 1. At the top of this frame is hinged at D the sector E, to thecenter of which is attached the lever F, whose lower end serves as theshort link G, which, when connected with the link H, forms thetoggle-joint. Opposite the joint D, and attached to the sector E, is thelug I, passing through the slot in the frame A. Said lug servesas a nutthrough which passes the rod J, the lower end of which carries a screw,K, and is held in position by the two set-collars L and caused to rotateby the hand on thecrank M. Said rod is allowed to move freely in theholes on top and bottom of said slot,to compensate for the circularmotion of the lug, having D for its center as the sector is raised orlowered by the screw.

Now it is evident that when thelug I is raised or lowered by said screwthe center at F is also raised or lowered, but in a less degree, butsufficient to change the distance between F and O and shorten orlengthen the travel of the jaws P and Q. To change the jaws from a largeto a smaller cablewill require to shorten the distance between the twoextreme ends of the toggle-joint, and therebylengthen the travel of thejaws. I am well aware that toggle-joints have been made adjustable byascrew. For instance, the Root grip is so made, but it is veryinconvenient and slow to operate, the adjustment requiringsome time tomake; but with my device theabove objections are obviated and theadjustment made easy. A trunk road having four or five branches, (as theMarket street system in this city,) where some of the cables are olderand some stretched more than others, necessitates many changes per day,and

it will readily be seen that when the three points of the toggle are inline and the grip does not hold one or two turns of the crank M.

will shorten the distance and cause the grip to hold.

Between the sides of the frame A, set in grooves, are located twoplates, R and S, to which are attached the jaws P and Q. The plate B isconnected to the long link H of the toggle-joint, and is raised andlowered by it as the lever F is thrown forward or backward. In theirrespective slots are bars T. the lower ends of which rest upon one endof the cams U. The other ends of said cams rest against the bottom sideof the plate S, to which is attached the lower jaw, Q, while theupperplate, R, carries the jaw P and rests upon the top ends of thesliding bars T, so thatif the upperplate is forced down by thetoggle-joint,through the instrumentality of the bars T and the cams U,the lower plate, with its jaw, is forced upward, and the two jawscontinue to approach each other until theygrip upon the cable, which thelower jaw has raised above the guidepulleys B and held firmly by thelever F and the pawl V, engaging the ratchetW, which is controlled bythe lever X; and by being disengaged and the lever F thrown forward,thetoggle-joint lilting the plate R, with the jaw 1?, the lower plate, S,and the jaw Q drop of their own weight, depositing the cable upon theguide-pulleys 13, while the jaw Q has dropped 5 sufficiently below thecable so that no wear can take place between them. The arrows show thedirection run by the cables, and that direction will be considered asforward.

Having illustrated and described 1nyinven- IO tion, what I claim as new,and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A cable-railroad gripping apparatus having an adjustable sectorcarrying the operat ing-lever and controlled by the screw K and r5 crankM, for the purpose of shortening or lengthening the distance between theextreme ends of the toggle-joint, substantially as and for the purposedescribed.

2. A. cable-railroad gripping apparatus having the plate S, the cams U,and bars '1, in 20' combination with the plate R, attached to andcontrolled by the togglejoint and the lever F, substantially as hereinset forth.

In testimony whereof I affix n: y signature, in presence of twowitnesses, in the city of San 25 Francisco, on this 10th day of January,1887.

HENRY It. TAYLOR.

Witnesses:

G. L. PIERCE, J lures llLlsox.

